Alaska ranks 49th in ‘Top States for Business’ survey; Dunleavy uses low score to pitch gasline

The Last Frontier has finished near or at the bottom of annual CBC survey during its 20-year history

A rendering of the proposed Alaska LNG Project liquefaction facility in Nikiski. (Alaska Gasline Development Corp.)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Alaska’s 49th-place finish in an annual "America’s Top States for Business" survey could, mathematically speaking, be reported as good news since the state ranked 50th last year.

For Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who along with his predecessors has seen bottom-tier rankings throughout the survey’s 20-year existence, it’s a political opportunity.

The criteria for the survey published Thursday by CNBC are "identifying the factors companies consider when making site selection decisions, and where states are focusing their economic development efforts to win jobs and business," according to the network.

"The biggest change in 2026: Infrastructure is our top-weighted category, as companies pursue strategic locations close to transport hubs, top utilities, access to fresh water, and abundant energy to power things like advanced manufacturing and data centers," the network notes. "And they want it all without red tape. For the first time in 2026, we are factoring ease of permitting into our rankings."

Grades for Alaska in 10 categories included Fs for infrastructure, education, access to capital (as in money, not the Capitol), and technology and innovation. The state got D-minus grades for economy, workforce and cost of doing business. It got C-plus grades for quality of life, business friendliness and cost of living.

Those grades meant Alaska’s top rankings were 20th for business friendliness, 22nd for cost of living (which might raise some eyebrows given studies showing the state is far above the national average) and 26th for quality of life. The lowest rankings were 50th for education and access to capital.

Alaska finished 50th in CNBC’s first survey in 2007 and consistently been in the bottom five since. Its last five rankings since 2022 have been 49th, 50th, 48th, 50th and 49th.

The top five states in the survey are Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas and Minnesota. The bottom five are (from 50th to 46th) Hawaii, Alaska, Rhode Island, Louisiana and West Virginia.

Dunleavy, in a post on his official Facebook page Friday, used the results to again pitch what’s been his dominant focus during his eighth and final year in office: moving ahead with a natural gas pipeline on the North Slope that’s been discussed for decades.

"If we want Alaska to compete with the best states for business, we have to build the infrastructure that unlocks our economy," the Republican governor wrote.

Dunleavy has called two consecutive special legislative sessions since state lawmakers ended the regular session on May 20 without passing legislation he is seeking to incentivize development of the proposed Alaska LNG Project. Lawmakers are divided on the extent of tax breaks to give the project’s developers and a provision — opposed by the governor as a "red line" item — that would make privately held oil and gas companies subject to the state’s corporate income tax (which currently applies only to publicly held companies).

The Legislature is tentatively scheduled to resume consideration on proposed gasline legislation during the coming week, with the current 30-day special session set to end July 19. Dunleavy could call yet another special session if a bill he considers acceptable fails to pass.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.